Distillery Founder Shares “5 Things” He Wishes He’d Known Before Starting His Business

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Starting a business is normally a trial-by-fire experience. Most of the time, new business owners learn lessons only by making the sometimes painful mistakes and missteps that help direct them to a better path forward. (For some compelling examples, check out our recent blogs highlighting how the founders of 23&Me and ClassPass learned the important lessons that helped them get their businesses on track.)

Fortunately, many business leaders and entrepreneurs are happy to share the lessons they’ve learned, offering advice and guidance based on their experience. The hope is that, by sharing their experience genuinely and transparently, they can help other business founders avoid some of the same mistakes.

Distillery Founder and CEO Andrey Kudievskiy recently shared the benefits of his own experience in an interview with Yitzi Weiner, FirstPage Optimum CEO and creator of the “5 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me” series. Weiner interviews CEOs, leaders, and celebrities to “share advice that can empower people and help to improve the world.” Check out the full interview transcript on Yitzi’s blog.

Inspired by the experience, Andrey also decided to share his “5 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Founded My Company” in video form. Check out the three-minute video in which Andrey shares some of the important lessons he’s learned about asking for help, balancing sales and execution, finding the right approach to client billing, funding a business, and attracting and retaining high-quality professionals. In the background, the video also showcases some of Distillery’s people at work throughout the company’s domestic and international offices.

Andrey has always been passionate about sharing the benefits of his knowledge and experience with the wider community. He is an ardent supporter of LA’s entrepreneurial community, serving as a mentor in Stubbs Alderton & Markiles PrecceleratorⓇ program and an accountability coach for the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Accelerator program. He’s also a speaker at LA Cash for College, sharing insight with students and their families as they prepare for the college and financial aid application process.

Want to learn more about Distillery’s commitment to ensuring our clients’ big-picture success? Let us know!

About the Author

Anar Babaev is Distillery’s Managing Director. He has wide-ranging experience on the client side and the business side, having worked in account and project management, sales, and client relations at various international software and IT organizations. Anar is passionate about creating a better client experience through proactive issue identification and problem solving. In his free time, he loves spending time with his family, listening to music, and reading. He has a massive collection of baseball caps, rarely leaving the house without a hat.